Introduction: Earthly Kingship as an Allegory for the Heavenly Kingdom
The verses before us ostensibly address the conduct of mortal kings of flesh and blood: what is abominable in their eyes, what their desire is, what happens when they become angry, and what happens when their countenance shines. But as we see from the words of the Rishonim and commentators, all of these are merely an allegory. The king in these verses is also the King of kings, and the relationship between a nation and its king is an allegory for the relationship between us and the Creator of the world. Let us proceed in order through the verses and see how each one opens an entryway for us in the service of Hashem.
Verse 12: A Kingdom Free of Wickedness
תּוֹעֲבַת יְהֹוָה... תּוֹעֲבַת מְלָכִים עֲשׂוֹת רֶשַׁע כִּי בִצְדָקָה יִכּוֹן כִּסֵּא׃ - It is an abomination for kings to commit wickedness, for a throne is established through righteousness.
Rashi explains: "It is an abomination for kings to commit wickedness" - it is abominable and unfitting for judges to commit wickedness. Here too in Rashi, we see that "kings" is not meant literally, but rather refers to judges.
Rabbeinu Yonah explains that the Holy One blessed be He establishes the throne of kings according to the good deeds they perform. And the Arab Spring proves this: when kings are wicked and corrupt, the throne teeters until they fall. There is an additional lesson here: if earthly kings abhor the committing of wickedness, how much more so does the supreme King of kings detest any act of wickedness.
The Vilna Gaon explains: When is a kingdom considered exalted, esteemed, upright, and honorable? When justice and law prevail within it. Then his kingdom is uplifted and renowned, and everyone glorifies and praises it. In contrast, a kingdom of deceit, lies, backroom deals, bribery, and perversion of justice is a "banana republic": whoever pays a little more money, the ruler passes him everything he needs under the table; he has exclusive control over all the state's treasures, funnels millions into bank accounts, and everything is fraud, deception, and falsehood. Such a kingdom is regarded as base and degraded. Therefore, when the king's people conduct themselves with righteousness and integrity, people say: this is an honorable kingdom. But when the kingdom is run through wickedness, it is an abomination in the eyes of the king, for he knows it harms the reputation of his realm in the world, and so he takes care that no act of wickedness takes place in his kingdom.
The Vilna Gaon further explains: "It is an abomination for kings to commit wickedness" - it is abominable in their eyes to commit wickedness themselves. When a king acts with kindness and righteousness toward all, everyone serves him willingly, and he is a beloved and popular king. By contrast, a corrupt king is intolerable, detested, and rebels constantly rise up against him seeking ways to overthrow him. Therefore, committing acts of injustice and wickedness is abominable to him, so that he does not become hated by the people of his kingdom.
The Malbim explains: The way to establish a kingdom is through righteous justice between man and his fellow, and thereby the kingdom is established in integrity and righteousness. However, to sustain the kingdom for many years, this alone is not sufficient; there must also be charity and good deeds that grant the kingdom enduring existence. This is the meaning of: to establish it with justice - civil justice between man and his fellow sets up the kingdom properly; and to support it with righteousness - so that it is sustained and upheld over many years. Consequently, "It is an abomination for kings to commit wickedness": wickedness, being the opposite of righteousness, is an abomination to kings, for it destroys the kingdom. Not only will it fail to sustain it for many years, but it will not even succeed in preserving it for a short time - "for a throne is established through righteousness", only through righteousness will his throne endure forever.
Verse 13: Righteous Lips and One Who Speaks Uprightly
רְצוֹן מְלָכִים שִׂפְתֵי־צֶדֶק וְדֹבֵר יְשָׁרִים יֶאֱהָב׃ - Righteous lips are the delight of kings, and he loves one who speaks uprightly.
When there are people who judge one another favorably and speak words of uprightness and justice, the king loves them, for a king does not like to hear words of disparagement about his realm. And as we mentioned, this too is an allegory for the Holy One blessed be He. Perhaps the example most familiar to us is from the home: What is the most disliked thing by parents? To hear, "Abba, he did this to me," "Imma, he took this from me," "He hit me." And what is most beloved to them? To see love and brotherhood, peace and fellowship among the children: when a child sees that his brother is lacking something and goes and gives him from his own, helping, assisting, and giving to one another. This is an analogy that clarifies for us how important it is to the Holy One blessed be He that we help, assist, and give to one another, and how loathsome, detestable, and abominable divisiveness, quarrels, and lashon hara are before Him.
Therefore, the greatest transgression in the Torah is lashon hara (evil speech), which is equated with idolatry, forbidden relations, and bloodshed - because it creates division. The generation of Achav would go down to battle and conquer. Why? "Ephraim is joined to idols; let him alone" - there were no slanderers among them. But the generation of Shaul would go down to battle and fall. Why? Because there were slanderers among them: "When the Ziphites came to Shaul: 'Is David not hiding with us?'", the hill of Hachilah, the men of Keilah, and the like; there were informers among them, speakers of lashon hara.
How great, then, is the "favor of kings", how much goodwill there is before the King of kings, when there are lips of righteousness and one speaks uprightness, advocates defense on behalf of His children, and finds the good in the Jewish people! However, this must not be misunderstood: finding the good in the Jewish people does not mean that if rebuke is needed, one should come and flatter them, saying, "You are righteous, you are upright" - on the contrary, that is wickedness and flattery, and it is forbidden to do so. Look at Yeshayahu, what harsh words he spoke in his prophecy: "Your princes are rebellious and companions of thieves, everyone loves a bribe and chases rewards" - as though it were written in our own day. When rebuke was needed, he spoke harsh words.
Yet Eliyahu was held to account. Why? Because he came before the Holy One, blessed be He, and said: "Master of the Universe, they have forsaken Your covenant." The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: "Had you gone to the people and told them, 'You have forsaken the covenant of Hashem,' on the contrary, you would have been beloved in My eyes for going and rebuking My people; but to come and tell Me that My children are unworthy - that is slandering My children." Therefore he was punished to be present at every brit milah, to witness that they do indeed uphold the covenant of Hashem. It turns out that "lips of righteousness are the favor of kings," meaning that people should speak well of one another and advocate merit; and those who always speak with uprightness and propriety - not only do they find favor, but they are beloved before the Master of the Universe.
The Malbim explains: he has already clarified for us that "righteousness" (tzedek) pertains to justice - that there should be justice in judgment, an honest and undistorted verdict, as it is written, "And he shall judge the poor with righteousness." This is the desire of kings, for it is for righteousness that Hashem coronated the king; for this purpose they crowned him, to administer just and righteous judgment. Yet there is a level even higher than this, and that is uprightness (yosher) - "and he loves one who speaks upright things." Uprightness is a higher rung than strict righteousness, akin to "in order that you may walk in the way of good men," which goes beyond the strict letter of the law, lifnim mishurat hadin. Here, it already says "he loves": it is the king's desire that there be righteous judgment, but one who acts even beyond the letter of the law is truly beloved before the Omnipresent. And yesharim (upright things) refers to words of uprightness, following the grammatical form of bekarim from boker.
Verse 14: The Wrath of a King and a Wise Man Who Appeases It
חֲמַת־מֶלֶךְ מַלְאֲכֵי־מָוֶת וְאִישׁ חָכָם יְכַפְּרֶנָּה׃ - The wrath of a king is messengers of death, but a wise man will appease it.
Rashi explains: when the king becomes angry, his wrath is like emissaries of death. That is, prepare yourself - this has severe consequences; heads are about to roll. But "a wise man will appease it": a wise man knows how to conciliate the king and calm his anger.
Rabbeinu Yonah explains that the verse comes to teach us about the King of the Universe. Be careful, for if you arouse the wrath of the Master of the Universe, you cause, Heaven forbid, angels of death to come forth, bringing about a situation where the Holy One, blessed be He, sends, Heaven forbid, the Satan to settle scores. For when there is burning wrath, there are consequences; when there is wrath, there is an impact. And this teaches us fear of Hashem: if when an earthly king gets angry, a person immediately knows to keep his distance and not enter his vicinity, because one never knows how it will end - all the more so the wrath of the King of the Universe, which brings angels of death; how could you not fear Him and His wrath?
An example of this is found with Ahasuerus. After he awoke in the morning and remembered Vashti and what she had done, who advised him to gather young, fair virgins? "The king's servants who ministered to him" - the attendants who served his cup of coffee, the ones who put on his shoes. Are these the royal counselors? Every king has appointed advisers, yet here the attendants are advising him! And their advice, too, was the advice of immature youths, as the Malbim explains there: forget nobility, forget blue blood, the main thing is that she be beautiful. Who thinks like that? An immature youth, an unrefined person. But a man of stature and a king understands that she must belong to his social standing, someone whose presence does not embarrass him. And why was the king surrounded only by his attendants in the first place, and where were his ministers? The Malbim explains: once they saw that he was an erratic king, who in a single moment executed his wife, and moreover altered the Persian constitution, decreeing that from now on the king may execute people on his own without the consent of the ministers and without passing resolutions in the assembly, but is the sole arbiter - they realized it was a mortal danger and kept their distance: "I am sick today; I am not coming in." Who knows, maybe I will rub him the wrong way and he will order my execution. Thus the king was left only with his young attendants, and they were the ones who advised him. This is an illustration of Rabbeinu Yonah's words: if people go on high alert and keep their distance in fear when an earthly king is angry, all the more so regarding the wrath of the King of the Universe.
"But a wise man will appease it" - in the deeper application (the nimshal), this refers to the virtue of wisdom, which is the Torah. Through the Torah and the observance of the mitzvot, he will appease it. In the literal parable: when a wise man comes and finds favor in the king's eyes, he succeeds in calming his wrath. So too in the nimshal: Hashem gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding, and wisdom is engagement in Torah and the performance of mitzvot. A wise man engaged in Torah, righteous and God-fearing, can appease it - like Moshe Rabbeinu, who repeatedly stood in the breach, and like other great leaders of Israel whose advocacy of merit saved the Jewish people.
What Is Atonement: To Cleanse
One must know that the meaning of "to atone" (lechaper) is to cleanse. Yom Kippur is the day of cleaning, even though some think that is Pesach! "And he shall atone for himself and for his household" - he cleanses the sins of himself and his household. Similarly, in the language of Chazal: "The Holy One, blessed be He, sought to destroy His House and sought to wipe His hands on that man" - as though, after destroying His House, His hands were soiled, and He wipes and cleanses His hands on the person who caused the destruction of the Temple; lechaporei yadei means to wipe. So too regarding the basins, where the Kohen would "wipe his hand" (mechaper yado) on the rim of the vessel in which they received the blood - meaning he wipes the blood from his hand. Thus, "a wise man will cleanse it": he will cleanse the iniquities of Israel through advocating their merit, fulfilling the Torah, and the merit of the mitzvot in his hand.
The Vilna Gaon explains: When the king becomes angry, his wrath is messengers of death, for he sends emissaries to put to death, yet a wise man in his wisdom will appease it. And so it is Above: when the burning anger and wrath of the Holy One, blessed is He, arises, it is not something distinct from death - His burning anger is death itself. But when there is a wise man, because Hashem loves the wise and righteous person, helping him and sustaining him, he will appease it. The Vilna Gaon adds that even the mere sight of the wise man is effective: He does not stir up all His wrath. And this is what is written regarding the plague, "and Aharon came and made atonement for the people" - by the very arrival of Aharon, when Hashem saw him, His fury subsided.
The Midrash offers a parable for this of a king who, whenever he became angry, people would bring his young son before him. The king stands fuming in his wrath, and suddenly they bring in the cute little boy - and immediately: "My darling, my sweet boy," he takes him, embraces and kisses him, and forgets all his anger and fury. So too, says the Midrash, with the Holy One, blessed is He: when He is angry and the wise man comes before Him, Hashem sees the wise man, the righteous person with his many mitzvos, special merits, and self-sacrifice for the service of Hashem - and through this, as it were, He calms down and forgets His anger and wrath.
The Difference Between Wrath and Anger
The Malbim explains that wrath (cheimah) is concealed in the heart, and when it breaks out, it becomes anger (af). We have already explained this several times: af is external and cheimah is internal. The wrath heats up inside, boiling continuously, and afterward, when it all comes out - it bursts forth from the nostrils: "For a fire has flared in My nostril." One sees the nose turn red and steam begin to rise from it, like a flamethrower. This is already the outward manifestation of the inner wrath.
As we recall, this was also how we explained the verse in Megillas Esther, "and the king grew very angry, and his wrath burned within him": there too, the Malbim explains that rage (ketzef) is external - like foam on the surface of water - while wrath (cheimah) is internal. Seemingly, the order should have been reversed, for first a person simmers inside and only then erupts, like a volcano with tremors until everything explodes; it should have said, "and his wrath burned within him, and the king grew very angry." The Malbim explains (and this is discussed at length in the shiurim on Megillas Esther) that Achashveirosh had a methodical plan to obtain unlimited rule over Persia and Media, free from dependence on ministers or anyone else. When the plan fell through, he could not afford to display excessive anger openly, for they would then realize there had been a hidden scheme; therefore, the bulk of his anger remained internal - "and his wrath burned within him." He ate himself up inside because he had almost succeeded and Vashti ruined his plans, while they had no idea how intensely he was burning within.
And regarding our verse: "The wrath of a king" is that which is concealed in the heart, and "messengers of death" are its manifestation when he exacts revenge. The wrath of a commoner, says the Malbim, is not so dangerous - what can he really do? He can become irritated, shout, or curse; the fear of the government is still upon him, and he still fears the police and the like. But if the king is angry, you are in serious trouble. Who is above him? Who can tell him what to do? Therefore, "the wrath of a king is messengers of death"; beware, it is perilous and grave. The Malbim adds: for in his wrath he destroys many - in a single moment he can decide to annihilate an entire village. We saw this in Black September, and we saw it with Assad the father when there was a rebellion against him in the city of Hama, and he poured out his fury upon them, deploying chemical weapons. And a son follows in his father's footsteps - the son learned from his father's ways and knows how to destroy even better. When a king is angry, heaven forbid, the devastation is immense and the casualties are many. At that point, a wise man is needed who knows how to use his wisdom to rescue the people of the place, atone for iniquity, and turn away wrath.
Verse 15: In the Light of a King's Countenance is Life
בְּאוֹר־פְּנֵי־מֶלֶךְ חַיִּים וּרְצוֹנוֹ כְּעָב מַלְקוֹשׁ׃ - In the light of a king's countenance is life, and his favor is like a cloud of late rain.
The cloud (av) is the one that brings the late rain (malkosh), meaning that blessing and abundance rest upon this person. Rabbeinu Yonah explains that "the light of a king's countenance" means that Hashem turns a shining face toward him. And "his favor" (retzono): when Hashem finds favor in one of His servants, the benefit that will accrue to the servant from this favor is an inseparable part of the favor itself, not subject to any doubt. Therefore, the verse does not say that it will arrive in the future, but that it is already here. "And his favor is like a cloud of late rain" - just as when a raincloud exists, the rain is already inside it; one does not need to pray that there be rain in it (perhaps one prays that it fall here rather than in Jordan), for the rain is already contained within it. So too, when the favor of the Holy One, blessed is He, rests upon a person, nothing more is needed: the salvation is already there, the blessing is already there, the abundance is already there.
Thus, in Hashem's favor toward a person, all the abundance he needs to receive is already contained. And this is the main objective toward which one should strive: "And You, in Your abundant mercies, desire us and find favor in us" - that I obtain favor from Hashem, so He will not say to me, "I have rejected you." And as the Rambam writes concerning a sinner who repented: yesterday he was hated, detested, distanced, and an abomination before Hashem, and today he is beloved, cherished, and close; yesterday he would pray and his prayer was torn up before him, and today he prays and his prayer is accepted. If there is divine favor, everything is included within it, like a cloud that already contains the rain.
In fact, Rabbeinu Yonah does not delve into why the verse specifically says malkosh; it implies that malkosh is a general term for rain, and he does not enter into the question of when the late rain falls and how it differs from the early rain (yoreh). His point is: like a cloud that brings rain. Just as when one has connections with the king and the king favors him - he has everything, he is fully set - so too, like a cloud with rain ready inside it, when Hashem favors a person, he has everything. However, the other commentators, as we will see shortly, do explain why the verse specifically chose "malkosh" rather than a "cloud of rain" or a "cloud of early rain."
The Vilna Gaon's Explanation: Torah and Prayer
The Vilna Gaon explains that "in the light of a king's countenance" refers to when the king is joyful. When the king is joyful, there is life, there is abundance, there is blessing; he gives and bestows bounty. Conversely, when the king is angry, woe to his people; go and learn from what happened to the Syrian people (even though when he was pleased things were not great for them, in any case it was far better than during his wrath). And when the king shows favor, he is to his people "like a cloud of late rain" (ke'av malkosh). And what is the malkosh? Rain that falls in Nisan, the latest of the rains, which possesses a unique virtue: it descends upon grain that is already ripe, and there is immense benefit in these late rains to bring the grain to its final perfection. So too, the favor the king displays toward his people is as exquisite as that rain which arrives at winter's end upon the ripe grain, to hasten and complete its ripening.
And to what does this apply? For Scripture does not merely come to describe the relationship between a person and an earthly monarch, but rather, as Rabbeinu Yonah explained, the relationship between us and the Creator of the world. The Vilna Gaon says: There is Torah and there is prayer. The Torah is the inner light of the King, for the Holy One, Blessed be He, the Torah, and Israel are one. As we say, "For by the light of Your countenance You gave us" - and what did You give us by the light of Your countenance? The Torah. Thus, "the light of a king's countenance" is the Torah, the King's innermost essence. And "His favor" is prayer, for how does one elicit favor from the King? By praying to Him.
One who has merited "the light of a king's countenance," having merited the labor of Torah, attains "life" - for "it is a tree of life to those who grasp it." And one who fulfills the King's favor, which is prayer, as well as the performance of mitzvos, which is likewise termed fulfilling the King's will - this is "like a cloud of late rain." And what is the difference between them? Of prayer it is said that it is "temporal life" (chayei sha'ah), while of Torah it is said that it is "eternal life" (chayei olam), as we find when one sage saw students pausing their study to pray and said to them: "They abandon eternal life and engage in temporal life." In its simple sense: in prayer a person asks for temporal matters - livelihood, health, and the like - whereas Torah is for the life of the World to Come, through which "He builds His upper chambers in the heavens."
However, the Vilna Gaon explains: "Prayer is temporal life" means that the realization of the auspicious hour brought about by prayer comes only at the end, whereas the reward of Torah is eternal life. There is no reward for a mitzvah in this world, but Torah is among the things whose fruits a person eats in this world while the principal remains intact for him in the World to Come. The Torah is eternal, and one cannot say of it, "You will receive it only at the end," because eternity means always, and consequently now as well. Therefore, it bears fruit in this world: "people benefit from him with counsel and sound wisdom"; "Mine is counsel and sound wisdom, Mine is understanding" - so many blessings exist already here in this world through the labor of Torah.
In contrast, prayer is temporal life, and that "hour" comes at the end. And when is the reward received? "Like a cloud" - and what rain does that cloud bring? Malkosh, the late rain, which comes at the end. Note carefully, then: "In the light of a king's countenance there is life" - even now, for the light of the King's countenance is the Torah, and it is life already in this world. But "and His favor," when you fulfill His will through prayer and through mitzvos - there is no reward for a mitzvah in this world; so when will you receive the reward? Like the cloud that brings the late rain, at the end - when you arrive at the life of the World to Come.
Three Stages: Wrath, Appeasement, and the Light of the Countenance
The Vilna Gaon further explains that our verse is the continuation of the preceding verse. "The wrath of a king is messengers of death, but a wise man will appease it": when the wise man appeased the wrath - that is, removed the king's fury by knowing how to approach him and how to persuade him - the messengers of death departed. And following their removal, what happens? The light of the king's countenance shines forth. The fury has departed, and then one finds life, which is the exact opposite of death.
We find, then, that there are three stages here: At first, there is the wrath of a king, which brings death, for in a single moment the king can become enraged and destroy. Afterward, "a wise man will appease it," succeeding in lowering the flames and clearing away the king's fury. And then, as a result, "in the light of a king's countenance there is life" - if in the king's wrath there was death, in the light of his countenance there is life. And if one is not satisfied with this alone, but also merits eliciting favor from the King by doing His will, this is "like a cloud of late rain."
In Summary:
The four verses we studied portray a complete picture of earthly royalty, and behind it, the Kingdom of Heaven. "It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness" - justice establishes the monarchy and righteousness sustains it for many days, while wickedness destroys it from its foundations. "Righteous lips are the delight of kings" - the king desires one who speaks truthfully and advocates merit, and especially loves one who walks the path of uprightness and acts beyond the letter of the law; while division and slander are abominable before him. "The wrath of a king is messengers of death" - an inner fury that, when unleashed, poses a mortal danger, and only a wise man, a master of Torah and mitzvos, can cleanse, appease, and turn back that wrath. And when the wrath subsides - "in the light of a king's countenance there is life": the Torah bestows life already right now, for it is eternal, while prayer and mitzvos have their reward like a cloud of late rain, arriving at the end to bring the crop to completion. And above all: "And You, in Your abundant mercy, will desire us and favor us" - for in Hashem's favor toward man, all blessing and all abundance are already contained.